This is (Not) A Shakespearean Tragedy
by TsukinArchangel
Summary: Daken Akihiro/Johnny Storm AU Currently T -M Daken's a rich lil' dick. Well Johnny is too, but he's at least a little bit more humble about it. Aka the AU you never knew you wanted where everyone is rich AF on the Upper East Side of NYC and the budding "friendship" between two people as different as night and day
1. The Game

**AN:/ Hi all I'm sooooo sorry about this document. I just found out it was super messed up and showing a blob of code. So please don't give up on it because of that internal error. Anyway I'm hoping that the issue was fixed now and I hope that reading this will start to create a new love and appreciation for the Daken/Johnny ship. Cause I know I love it :x There will be more characters later on, waaay more than the four listed and sadly I can't put enough Cross-Over tabs for this, Luckily X-Men and Fantastic Four have most I need. Anyway without further ado... ENJOY!**

* * *

 **The Game**

 **The club is dark save the lights shining overhead** _._ Black. But then it's blue. Then red. Then green. Yellow. Pink. White. Then back. It's black. It's dark. But then it's not and Daken's on the second floor, arms resting on top of the back pillows of the couch, a sly smile on his face as a lady and a man respectively, grope his body.

They're a firm presence in his arms. They're firm, but the man's firmer. They're firm, but the lady's soft and pliable to his whims. They're firm and he feels the press of the woman's breasts against his arm and her manicured nails against his thigh. Feels the man's strong grip on his waist and the hot suction of his lips against his neck and this, this is _good,_ this is _power_ , this is _control_.

He doesn't know their names, and they don't know his, they just know he's the most attractive man in the club and they know they're lucky to even have a second with him.

Daken lolls his head to the side and lets out a satisfied sigh, giving the man more room. He figures he should reward them for their efforts. Something to keep them motivated, so he runs his fingers under the woman's skirt, and fists his hand around the hard line against the seam of the man's pants. It's dark. But then it's not. Then it's blue. Then it's red. And the woman is moaning against his chest, and the man is griping at Daken's side like it's the last thing he'll ever do. And it's Yellow. Pink. The man sounds like he's being strangled, the woman can't stop shuddering, clawing at Daken's thigh, running her hand up and down and—

Then it's white.

It's dark.

But then Daken sees _him,_ the _blonde,_ and it's not. It's not dark. It's skipped blue, skipped red. And it's green.

Daken pushes the other two off of him and straightens out his tie, wiping his hands on the woman's skirt. The blonde hasn't noticed him yet, but that's okay. He likes a challenge. It's all part of the game. He likes the look of surprise on their faces when they realize his attention is on them.

The blonde's talking to someone, Daken's not sure who, but whoever it is is gesturing wildly and his glasses are on that fine line between being dorky and so hipster it hurts. Daken stands to the side. Waiting. Watching. Because all of this is part of the game too. Part of the fun.

Glasses spots Daken first. He knows this because he sputters like an incoherent mess over his words and starts pointing at him emphatically. Daken can't help but grin, and he knows it looks predatory, but it is unavoidable. He smells sex. Sex and copper and adrenaline fire.

The blonde turns and Daken takes that as his cue to move forward, sending a subtle glance at Glasses telling him to fuck off. He gets the message. Daken won't have any interference.

"Like what you see?" Daken smirks, his breath ghosting like warmed velvet against the shell of the blonde's ear. He chuckles softly, "Of course you do." He murmurs, voice smooth like silk. Cocky. Full. Rich. Dark chocolate. Hypnotic.

Daken pulls back. Tilts his head to the side. Moves so his dark hair tumbles across the side of his face and leans ever so slightly forward. Closer. Letting the light catch the mischievous glint in his eyes. Letting it highlight his best features—His cheekbones, high and sharp like marble. His jawline, smooth and strong like granite. His body, soft but firm, coiled and sleek—deadly—like a panther ready to strike.

The smirk stays in place, his body remaining deceptively open, vulnerable, like he's somehow the aggressed and not the aggressor. Like he's not in complete control. Like he can't feel their body-heat sitting between them, _hot,_ so very _hot_ , and just out of reach. Like he's not the one keeping it that way.

Daken feels the other's need. He feels it like a tangible, palpable thing—Dirty, steamy, _boiling._ But he does nothing about it. It's not his move. Not his play. He can't force this. He's got to time it just right, like a gunshot—a second too early and your prey will bolt.

So he stands there, rooted to the spot, heart slamming in his chest like a jackhammer and he waits. He parts his lips a fraction of an inch, droops his eyelashes an inconceivable amount and just… breaths. He _waits._

He doesn't even know the blonde's name. Didn't care to ask. Doesn't care to know now either. All that matters is the game, the play, the effort going into making his wet dream a reality, beause this man, the blonde, he is _fit._

His hair's like liquid gold. Eyes bright and clear and piercing like an azure sky. He's a picture perfect vision of stereotypical American masculinity. Daken wants to ruin it. Devour it. Mar it. _Own_ it. Have the blonde desperate and begging at his feet. To feel those strong hands on his waist. Grabbing so tight Daken can't help but gasp. To bruise— Honestly, if he wasn't already halfway to gagging for it he'd be sick with himself.

Daken licks his lips. "What's wrong?" he drawls from beneath a hooded gaze. His hands linger in the space above the blonde's hips, and it's warm, _so_ warm, and he wants nothing more than to feel that warmth underneath the pads of his fingers—but he _can't_ —not yet. _Not yet_ , "cat got your tongue?" Daken looks up. The blonde's not much taller than him, but it's enough to make a difference. _Small._ He thinks. He has to make himself smaller. Coyer. More nervous. Unsure. He's got to play into the blonde's hand to make him show it.

He forms his most disarming smile. The one that's all giddy feelings and virgin touches. The one that screams innocence. But he lets his eyes stay as they are, dark and lustful, full of intent. Sure but unsure. Bashful yet provocative. Subtle yet direct. It's a delicate game, that fine line he rides, and he loves every minute of it. The sex will be better for it.

"No need to be so nervous," _I am too_ , his body says though it's a lie, "I don't bite," the blonde's breath catches in his throat. Daken has to force himself not to raise an eyebrow, or grin like the shark he is. _So that's what you're into hmm?_

Slowly, smoothly, as to make it look like a spur of the moment decision, like he's that fumbling virginal boy this man seems to need—he moves closer, biting his lip and giving the blonde all the time he needs to pull away. Daken pauses a hairsbreadth away from his neck, so close he can smell the sharp tang of man and the sweet sharp scent of his cologne on top of it. He shivers. Looks up again. Makes a show of swallowing his nerves. Looks back down at the blonde's neck. Breaths out. Slowly closes that tiny distance between them. Licks a stripe up his neck. Up the vein. Past the hollow at the top of it. And tentatively takes the lobe of the blonde's ear into his mouth.

"Much," his voice comes out in a rush of hot air against the blonde, sounding thoroughly wrecked and desperate, that little bit between just enough and too much and _not quite enough at all_.

They're chest to chest, and Daken goes back to kissing the blonde's neck. Nibbling. Sucking. Licking. Biting. He can feel the blonde trembling beneath the assault. Against the sensory overload, and the blonde—the blonde still hasn't _done_ anything.

His hands keep making these aborted gestures over Daken's body. Lingering above his shoulders like they're about to touch before gliding down his spine to rest just above his hips only to at the last second pull back completely and lay twitching mutely at his sides. So close to what he wants and nowhere near close enough at all.

It's enough to make Daken scream, and he does, the vibration of it echoing in the shiver running through the blonde's body and Daken pulls back, serving one last harsh bite in retaliation before stopping his assault completely.

"Still not saying anything?" He pretends to be teasing, joking, playful, but he's not. He's _pissed_. He's dead serious. He wants the blonde to do something. Say something. _Anything_. He needs to know where he stands, because he knows the blonde's into him. He can feel how into him he is against his hip, but that doesn't mean he's going to get laid. It just means he's hot as fuck and next to irresistible.

The blonde stares blankly at him, a rosy flush running from his cheeks down his neck and past the hem of the shirt that's definitely a couple sizes too small. He _looks_ like the kind of guy looking to get laid, but maybe he's just not the kind of guy who'd been looking to get laid by well… a _guy_. Wouldn't be the first time.

But if he would just say something. If he could just say in a fumbling hypermasculine and totally heterosexual way _"Oh I don't do this"_ or _"I'm not gay"_ Daken could work with him, ease him into it saying, _"No one's paying attention Blondie"_ , _"Darling, a little drunk fun never hurt anybody", "Everyone's a little gay"._ He's dealt with stiffer pricks.

But this radio silence, this hot mess of quiet desire, _this_ he doesn't know how to deal with. He needs his prey open, responsive. _Receptive._ He's used to getting what he wants.

"What?" He says drily, "do you not speak English?" Daken laughs and its a pleasant sound, pleasant like a Siren's song, full of double meaning and dark tumultuous seduction. He's pissed and horny and he's taking it out on him, " _Mein süß, sprechen Sie Deutsch?"_ His voice is still velvet, but this time it's sharp too, mocking, beautiful like a blade.

The blonde blinks down at him, eyes suddenly glued to his and _shit_ Daken _knows_ that look—

 _"Ja, ich kann,"_ the blonde smirks, he _smirks_ and it does things to Daken's body, bad things, bad, terribly, horribly _good_ things, because suddenly what _was_ this quivering blonde mess is confident and Daken's not too sure he knows what to do with _this_ either. "But I know English too." He grins and it's bright and unabashed and completely unscripted. It's beautiful in a dangerous way, because Daken's not used to being unguarded, not used to people wearing their hearts on their sleeve. "'m Johnny."

"Oh," Daken knows he's been caught off guard. He knows Johnny knows it too by the way his smile broadens the longer Daken remains silent. He has to get this back under control. He doesn't like things being out of his control.

Daken schools his expression into one of sly indifference, "oh," he says again. Daken looks at him cooly, "Daken." He hadn't planned on telling him his name. For that matter he hadn't planned on finding out Johnny's but the game's always changing, evolving. It's what makes it attractive.

Johnny laughs, and it sounds like nothing Daken's ever heard before. Like a sudden burst of sunlight, and it sets a fire in his veins.

"Daken?" Johnny says, still laughing with his eyes, "that doesn't sound German."

Daken shrugs, some of the tension leaving his body. It's his play. The ball's back in his court. "I'm not German."

He could've said more. Could've talked about his fucked up family: the daddy that doesn't want him, the sister who's daddy's perfect little clone, the brother that's probably more fucked up than he is. He could've lied too. Said it _was_ German. Said he was too. He knows he doesn't look it, but then again he doesn't look very Japanese either, he could've gotten away with it.

But he doesn't. Daken doesn't know why, but he doesn't. He doesn't want to delve into why it is he doesn't feel a need to spin some fantastic story about his life so he _doesn't_ think about it. Pushes it to the side. Tricks himself into thinking it's because he wants to seem _"mysterious"._ It almost works.

Johnny looks like he wants to ask about it. He can see the question on the tip of his tongue and Daken holds his breath. He doesn't know if he wants Johnny to ask. He doesn't know if he doesn't want him to either, and the anticipation … it's _electric._ Like lava in his bones.

Johnny closes his mouth and Daken pushes that little ball of feeling that sorely resembles disappointment right next to that little feeling that told him not to lie. He'll deal with it later. He knows he's lying about that too.

"You got a place nearby?" Johnny asks instead, rubbing the pads of his thumbs against Daken's hips, and when did _that_ happen? Not that he particularly _minds_ that Johnny finally stopped being such a fucking _girl_ and touched him, but Daken's usually _aware_ of these things.

Daken smirks and nods. "Yeah, not too far. You can't imagine how much of a bitch designer is to replace."

Johnny snorts. "You sound like my sister's bratty socialite friends."

If Daken were another man he might have let it slip on his face how much those words surprised him. Instead, he takes out his flask of whiskey and takes a calculated sip, offering it out to Johnny when he's done. "I hope that's not a bad thing," Daken says.

Johnny eyes the proffered flask for a moment and shakes his head "No."

"No?" Daken raises a brow.

"No it's not a bad thing, and no to whatever's in that," Johnny says gesturing to the flask, "thank you though." _Such a girl._

Daken shrugs and puts the flask away. "It was whiskey by the way. Macallan 1946. Very expensive."

Johnny scoffs. "I know."

"You know?"

Johnny rolls his eyes and on anyone else it might have looked at least somewhat condescending but on him it just seemed like an over exaggerated pout. "I know what Macallan is. Goes for like five hundred grand right?"

"It's four sixty give or take but that's beside the point," Daken pauses and looks Johnny over again, "aren't you just full of surprises," he murmurs.

Johnny coughs, and Daken can see a new blush running up his cheeks, "We uh, going to your place?" Subject change. Daken can roll with that.

"If you're still up for it." A challenge.

Johnny smirks and Daken shivers. That _damn_ smirk should be illegal, "Oh, I'm definitely up for it."

Daken huffs out a laugh, and his grin turns feral at the confirmation. "Well it would be rude of me to keep you waiting."

Johnny nods in agreement, hands shifting on his waist and traveling just that little bit lower. "It would."

"I should really get to it then hmm?"

"You should."

"Well," Daken steps back, and has to stifle a laugh at the face Johnny makes when he pulls away. He tilts his head to the side. "After you."


	2. Pretty Drunk

p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;" align="center"strongPretty. Drunk./strong/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"strongNew York's a real prize at night./strongstrong /strongJohnny doesn't know how he's never thought of this—doesn't know why he's thinking item /ememnow/em of all times—but it's true. All the lights pulsing on the horizon, twinkling, like a—a—neon emsomething/em—something artsy—like—a painting?—Van Gogh? Monet maybe? It's incredible. It's breathtaking in a way that's…that's like…that's just… He lets out a breath./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Never mind. He doesn't even know why he tries; to be honest he's not even any good with his words. Not when it comes to things like this. He's not a Romantic, he doesn't use a pen and letters to paint a canvas, heck he doesn't even own a empaint brush/emem /emto actually paint on emanything/em. He just sees something he likes—a book. A car. A statue. He sees it and it's justem /emem"cool"./emem /emIt's "emsweet"./em It'sem /emem"sick"./emem /emWhatever./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny can see the skyline. He really emlikes/em the skyline. It's probably the best thing about the city. It—New York is…empretty./emem /emHe can't describe it as anything else. Cool maybe? But even that feels too much like a cop out. It's just, really, really, empretty/em. Especially at night. Even more so. /p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Admiring the view?" Johnny's eyes flit away from the window. They're emalso/emem /emreally high up. It sort of goes without saying though considering Daken emapparently/em lives on the top floor of a high-rise apartment in one of the most expensive buildings in Lennox Hill, "you know," Daken says, drawing out the word, "it's a little offensive that I'm emnot/em the center of your attention." It's said playfully—flippantly—and with a grin, but Johnny can't help but think there's something else there too. An undercurrent of impatience. Of greed. Annoyance. He demands to be seen. To beem /ememheard/em. And something tells Johnny that Daken's used to getting his way./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"And the look in his eyes, it's hunger, plain and simple. A hunger that makes Johnny's mouth go dry and the hairs on the back of his neck stand tall. He feels trapped, but trapped in the web of an Incubus, heem /ememwants/em to be trapped; it's dangerous and charming and it drips over every movement, every action, and every emword/em that passes Daken's lips like sickly sweet nectar. It's alluring in the same way a Venus flytrap is to an insect. The Siren to the sailor. Deadly./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""But I understand," Daken says and tosses his coat over the arm of his couch. It's long and dark. Leather. Expensive looking. Everything's dark though. Everything seems lavish too./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken hasn't bothered turning on a light though and Johnny is too enthralled to bother looking for one. It seems almost perfunctory in nature, cursory; Daken's attention is still on him, and he grins, all sharp teeth and dubious intent. "I'm told the view is quite stunning."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny clears his throat. He wants to glance back outside, back out the window; wants to look anywhere but those copper eyes, but Johnny can't, they're like magnets. Black holes. They bare no escape. He suddenly feels like the attention is too much, like he's an open book and everything he's thinking, everything he's feeling is right there for Daken to read./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""It is," Johnny stammers. He's nervous. He can't help it, "it's—uh—it's…very—uh—pretty." emPretty./em Shit. emDaken's/emstrongpretty/strongemtoo./emem /emJohnny wants to groan in frustration. Grab his coat and turn around and never come back. emPretty? Really?/em That seems to be the only adjective he can think of right now./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken snorts, his eyes hooded, and it's as derisive as it is attractive and the funny flutter in Johnny's chest that he thought was from the couple of beers he drank back at the club just got stronger. "Pretty," Daken repeats, "that's all?" He raises a brow, looking amused./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Yeah…" Johnny rubs the back of his neck, and he can feel a flush running up it, burning red and prickling like a brand, "just…pretty."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He rolls his eyes. "emVery/emem /emeloquent Jonathan."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"emJonathan?/em Johnny wrinkles his nose. "Metaphor's not a strong suit," a pause and he's rocking subtly on the balls of his feet, "and it's Johnny."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Whatever you say Jonathan," Daken waves a hand dismissively in the air./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He glares. "Johnny," he says again./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Mhm." Daken's unbuttoning his shirt, and it falls to the ground, slipping off his shoulders like a sheath off a blade. He walks forward and the ink engraved on his body spreads up his arm and across his chest, weaving over it like a geometric serpent. It ripples with his skin, shifting over his muscles as he moves and Johnny can't help how his eyes travel in tandem with it, can't help how he watches the flex of toned abs on Daken's stomach as he breathes./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken is, without a shadow of a doubt, beautiful. He owns it. He knows it. And even if Johnny had only seen him in passing he knows he'd have felt the same way. His presence is dominating, coiling with a predatory grace; Daken, even in sex, is intimidating like no one Johnny's met before. He knows what he wants and he expects to get it./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"With Johnny it's usually inconsequential trysts, drunken making out transitioning into drunken sex, fumbling, fiery, often times bordering on awkward hormone fueled, alcohol induced physicality, but with Daken it's different. With Daken there's no fumbling, there's no awkwardness, it's simply emneed/em, a need that Johnny doesn't even know if is his own, but he feels it. It pulses in the air making it thick and cloying in a way that Johnny finds hard to breathe./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken stops and Johnny's forced to take a step back to look at him. It feels too hot. He's sweating and Daken's emso/em close to him and Johnny feels like a teenager, like it's all too much and he's suddenly so emunsure/em and he just needs to emstop/em. To think. To breathe. To collect himself. Because he's here, with a emguy,/em and that's something that's never happened before. He's emthought/em of it sure, but he's never emacted/em on it; Daken's apparently got a way of getting under his skin without even trying. Johnny laughs nervously and licks his lips, mouth suddenly feeling too dry. "L-like you could do any better…" he croaks, voice hardly above a whisper./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Is that a challenge?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny coughs. "I don't know. Is it?" His voice sounds strangled even to his own ears, reedy and prepubescent like the teenager he apparently is./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken grins and runs a finger up Johnny's sternum. It feels like acid even with his shirt still on and Johnny can't help his gasp. "I never back down from a challenge Johnny."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Wha—"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Shh," Daken puts a finger to his lips and leans in, finger traveling slowly down Johnny's jaw and his face tilts up so his lips find themselves perched against the shell of Johnny's ear. "I could do emso/em much better," his voice is like molten gold against Johnny's skin, his breath like fire. Johnny gulps. He can feel the goosebumps rising against the side of his neck despite how hot he feels./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken rests his head on Johnny's shoulder, idly drumming against the waistband of Johnny's jeans, "Hmm," he hums noncommittally, "During the day," he begins, and Johnny's transfixed, eyes glued to the view outside the window as he speaks, "the city is a song—but the chords—the emsoul/em of it are lost to the wind and horns and choking smog," he takes a breath, "But at night," Daken's voice is a murmur, a low rumble, dark and oh so empretty/em. "At night, it comes alive, it sheds its skin and morphs into something new, something beautiful."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny feels his heart pounding in his chest, and it's almost enough to drown out the sensation of Daken's fingers, which have traveled under the hem of his shirt. He's not even doing anything, though, not trying to push any further, higher, or lower, he's just letting them lay there. Johnny bites his lip, and somehow that's emworse/em. "The chords are still lost," Daken's saying, and Johnny just really wants him to emmove/em, he feels like he'll go eminsane/em if Daken doesn't and it's only his fuckingem /ememfingers/em, "but the symphony can continue. They play by ear and it works. It does. And in the morning, when the sun chases them away it echoes, breathing the city's life until night comes again."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny blinks, his breathing heavy and body trembling, "What the fuck," he laughs, he has to. There needs to be some emrelief/em, some exit to this pent up energy, this empassion/em roiling inside of him. "Do'ya just stay here in your man-cave and wax poetically in the moonlight?" He grins, and he knows it's shaky at best, a vain attempt at trying to make himself seem more in control than he is, "this foreplay to you?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I don't know," Daken drawls, nipping at the juncture of his neck, and Johnny has to try emvery/em hard not to fall on his knees or do something equally embarrassing like emwhimper/em. "Is it turning you on?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny grips the side of Daken's head, emdear God his/emem /emstrongemmouth,/em/strong keeping him there and tilts his own back, "I—emah/em—think I've been there since the—emuh/em—club to—emJesus/em—be honest."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""emJesus/em?" Daken chuckles and the vibration rumbles against Johnny's neck; Daken just so emhappens/em to be doing this thing with his emtongue/em and his emteeth/em and his emlips/emem /emat the emexact/em same time and Johnny can't help the moan that leaves him. He can't help how his hands fly up to grab at Daken's biceps and he's got to give him some credit because Johnny's still standing on his own two feet which he emknows/em for a fact isn't any thanks to himself. "I think I'm a little too hedonistic for that title, Jonathan."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""emJohnny,"/em Johnny hisses./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Another bite. Another suck. Another lick. emFuck./em "Whatever."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny huffs out a breath, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "I think…," He says, "I think I'm a little drunk."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""emReally/em," the sound is muffled but the tone is unmistakably dry and the curve of lips against his skin teasing./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny nods./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Do you want me to stop?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I—d'," Johnny let's out a frustrated noise. He feels dizzy. emOverwhelmed/em. Daken's hands are running up Johnny's arms, his lips are still latched to his neck and his body is warm, so, so emwarm/em. It's nice,em /emembetter/emem /emthan nice; he knows heem /ememlikes/em it, but—he's emnot/em emready for it/em. He thought he was but he emisn't/em. Johnny groans./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Cause I will you know, if you emreally/em want me too."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I—uh—," Shit. He feels like such a emdick/em, "emyes/em."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Yes?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""St-stop," does he have to spell it out for him? Johnny pulls back and runs a hand through his blonde hair, tugging at the roots. "Just… stop," he's not looking at Daken, "emplease/em."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Okay," Daken lets him go, not seeming particularly phased or surprised, (which makes Johnny feel even emworse/em) and walks over to his closet, sliding it open and stepping inside, "you know," he calls and Johnny's pointedly emnot/em looking at the bed, instead focusing on whatever minor details he can make out in the dim light, "you're probably the first person to actually turn having sex with me down," Johnny just grunts in reply./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"His heart isem /ememstill/em thundering in his chest and his hands are emstill/em shaking. Johnny realizes, a little belatedly maybe, that he was probably halfway to a panic attack. emChrist./em He hadn't had one of those since he was aem /ememkid/em. He looks back around. Shelves filled with books. Hardwood floor beneath his feet. The dark-colored chaise lounge Daken had thrown his coat over. A mirror. A couple abstract paintings and a desk. Steady his breathing. In. Out. In and out./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken walks back out of the closet and this time he's clad in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a loose muscle shirt. "Back to the no talking thing are we?" Daken regards him coolly, "Okay. emIch werde Deutsch sprechen/em."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny frowns. em"Warum?"/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"em"Es funktioniert,"/em Daken smirks with a shrug. em"Werden Sie Englisch sprechen?"/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"em"Ja."/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"em"Gute."/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny sighs. Licks his lips. Says a little coyly, "I should probably go."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken nods, "I'd usually kick you out," he agrees, "but I'm not."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Why not?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken hums in the back of his throat, his hand rubbing against his jaw, "you go to the University right?" Johnny blinks. That seems a little off topic./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Yeah?" Johnny knits his brow, "how'd you—."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Your shirt," Daken says with a wave of his hand, "anyway it's close and you're drunk so you should really take my hospitality for what it is and change into these." He tosses another pair of flannel pants and a shirt in his direction, they miss their mark terribly, but then again it hadn't really looked like he was trying to aim either, "bathroom's over there," he points to a door off to the side./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Are you sure—."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""emYes,"/em Daken says exasperatedly; he sighs and runs a hand through the hair on the top of his head, a long flattened version of a Mohawk, "look," he begins again more calmly, "I'm really not usually this nice, but you're cute, and I would hate to hear about a cute drunk blonde ending up in a ditch somewhere in the morning because I kicked him out of emmy/em humble abode, so emshut up/em, do me a favor and emchange/em."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny gulps and slowly nods his head, picking the clothes up off the floor. "Okay."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I'll be in the living room," Daken says flippantly. Johnny catches a whiff of something aromatic as he passes by. Cologne that he doesn't innately recognize./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Okay."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He pauses at the door, turning to look at him. There's a glint in Daken's eyes that Johnny decides right then and there he doesn't like. "See you in the morning, emJonathan/em." Johnny grimaces. Nope. He doesn't like it at all./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He lets out a weary sigh. "It'sem /ememJohnny,/em" he groans exasperatedly but he nods all the same and walks on over to the bathroom door./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"emDaken's just pretty./em Johnny thinks, and in his mind that's enough. emNothing to worry about./em Enough justification. Enough explanation. And he, himself, is just really drunk. He's always known he gets a little more… emhandsy, /ema little moreem open /emwhen alcohol's involved. emAnd in the morning this doesn't have to mean anything right?/em Cause he'sem /ememtotally/em drunk. emSuper/em drunk. (Except he's not). (Which probably means more than he wishes it did)./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny's gripping the clothes too hard, his knuckles are white and he can feel the furrow in his brow growing progressively deeper. His grip on the door's handle is no better. Johnny sighs and pushes it open, the tension in his shoulders and arms leaving with it./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"The lights turn on automatically as he steps inside. emNice touch./em Johnny squints against the glare, stopping while his eyes adjust, and blinks in confusion—Daken's—his bathroom—everything is just so... emWhite. /emThe floor is white tile. The bath and counters are white marble. The walls are white stucco and the shades over the lights are a frosty milky color that gives the room a crisp almost sterile feel./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"The only splashes of color are the red towels hanging on the horizontal steel bars on the far side of the room. Even Daken's toothbrush is white./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"There are three mirrors, one placed after another about two inches apart in what Johnny thinks (but can't really be sure) are gilded gold frames. He sets the clothes on the counter and begins to strip, starting with his shirt. The Rockefeller University's seal is pasted on the front, but it's not particularly large or obtrusive. emScientia. Pro. Bono. Humani. Generis/em. It reads. Someone (Peter) probably'd told him what it means (something about science, humanity and generosity he thinks) but he can't remember for sure. Doesn't really care either. Honestly Johnny's just kind of amazed Daken even noticed it in the first place./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He takes off his pants. Folds them somewhat messily into a pile. Pulls on the ones Daken gave him. The pants fit well enough surprisingly, though they hang low on his hips and barely cover his ankles. The waist is elastic and that's really all that matters. He doesn't bother with the shirt. It would just stretch and cling to him uncomfortably. He's always run hot anyway./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Stepping out of the bathroom he pads into the adjacent hallway. It's dark. The floor cold beneath his feet and it's somehow a little ironic after being in the bathroom from Shangri-La./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny trips. On what he doesn't know; honestly it's a little embarrassing that he'd tripped in the first place, but really he's just glad no one was there to see it. Whatever. He's em"drunk"/em right?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny stumbles. Rights himself against the wall. Manages a step only for his foot to catch on a rug and emholy fucking hell/em Daken really has too much fancy shit standing at the strangest angles in this hallway for Johnny's liking. He winces as he knocks into another table./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken groans. "Go emaway/em."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""What?" Johnny says while leaning against the door-frame. His chest is heaving a little more than it should have from walking the couple of yards down the hallway. "I didn't even emsay/em anything."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face before turning his head to look at him. "Jonathan—,"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"em"Johnny—."/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"He rolls his eyes, "emJonathan/em, you are probably one of the emloudest /empeople I've ever met," he stretches, one of his legs lazily coming out from underneath him and resting on the arm of the couch. Johnny can't help but think he looks like a pissed off cat. "Please tell me you didn't break anything," he drones./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""No! Of course not."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Really?" Johnny doesn't think he's ever seen a flatter look./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Puffing out a breath he scratches his head. "I… think so?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken rolls his eyes. "What did you want."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Have your shirt, didn't wanna stretch it out." Johnny says and tosses it over to him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I see," Daken's eyes travel down his chest and Johnny leans that little bit more. Showing off in his own way. Daken had his fancy words and burning touches, but Johnny, Johnny still had his body. He feels more like himself this way, when he knows where he stands. Daken's eyes snap back up suddenly and he clears his throat. Johnny smirks. Daken raises a brow. "And?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""You got a charger?" He waves his phone in the air, cool, confident, self-assured, "my phone's dead and mine's back at my place."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Is it a phone from the last three years?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny frowns. "Uh…probably."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Daken closes his eyes. "Top draw on the left, there," it's said sleepily and slow, with a vague gesture in the direction he mentioned, "you'll find something… probably."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny opens the drawer. "That's a lot of chargers."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I run into a lot of people."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""That's still a lot of chargers."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""I like to be prepared."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"Johnny wets his lips. "I see."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;"There's a pause and Johnny looks through the stack./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Are you done yet?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Yes."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;""Then would you be a dear," Daken says, voice dripping with sweetness, "and kindly fuck off."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.8004px;" /p 


End file.
